Austria: Exposing the Persecution by Practising the Exercises in Vienna’s State Park

In Vienna, the capital of Austria, there is a special place – the Vienna State Park. Despite adverse weather in summer or winter, be it sunshine, snow or rain, the State Park, located in beautiful old town, a much visited place and a great attraction for tourists and locals alike. While the locals prefer to sit and chat in a café or on a bench in the park and enjoy the warming sun, the tourists are drawn to the green expanse, the old magnificent buildings that surround the park, because of the Johann-Straus monument. Unending large tourist groups can be observed, taking pictures on their way to the Johann-Straus monument, so they will remember the beautiful surroundings of the park and the blooming flowers.

This is also the almost daily meeting place for Viennese Falun Gong practitioners, who perform the five Falun Gong exercises from Sunday to Thursday. What is so special about this? The exercise place is not only used to do the exercises, but also to expose in great details the persecution against Falun Gong in China, especially since Chinese tourists pass through the park daily.

“There was a time when we did the exercises in a different place, but it was too private and no one saw us there. A practitioner suggested that we change location. Many Chinese tourists pass near the Franz Joseph monument,” said Melanie, a practitioner from Vienna, who does the exercises for two hours daily from Sunday to Thursday in the Vienna State Park. No matter if it rains or snows is hot or cold, she and a few other practitioners come regularly to the State Park.

In the beginning, Melanie was not too happy with changing location, but finally she let go for her preference to practise on a meadow and now practises on the broad gravelled path. “I’m doing this because of the Chinese people,” she noted. She finally understood what goes on in China after her son returned from China. Her son, Alexander, began to practise Falun Gong in 2001, two years before his mother learnt Falun Gong. In 2002, he travelled to Changchun by himself, with the intention to distribute flyers about Falun Gong and the persecution. Shortly after his arrival, the police arrested and detained him. He did not believe that he would return alive to Vienna, but a few days after his arrest he was deported to Austria.

“Yes, I understood somehow that he was going to do something, but I wasn’t quite sure as to what it involved. He told me that he was flying to China, but not that he was going to distribute flyers,” said Melanie. Melanie finally became more aware of Falun Gong and the persecution when she saw her son at the airport. “His sports jacket was torn from top to bottom in the back and his arms were totally blue. He was still in shock,” she said. This gave Melanie the impetus to look more into the persecution of Falun Gong, begin to take up the practice and become active in exposing the persecution that is currently taking place against Falun Gong in China.

She remembers that she had come across Falun Gong some time ago, but did not know what Falun Gong was all about. “I was in Oberlaa to take a course. When I looked out of the window, I saw a group of people doing the exercise in a park. This was so beautiful,” she said excitedly. “Everything was green around the group, the meadow and the trees and then amongst all this the harmonious exercises. I was captivated by it. I held the thought that I want to learn this.” Melanie went to the park to meet the group, but they had already left. Later on she realised that these were the Falun Gong exercises she saw at the time.

It is not always easy for Melanie to practise the exercises in the park. Many practitioners can’t come to the practice site during the week, because of their jobs. At times, she is all by herself. During winters, it is colder in the State Park than in Vienna, and during the summer one is bothered by a lot of flies. Despite all this, she remains firm, because this place is a great place to clarify the truth. “Often, several buses with Chinese tourists arrive in that area. There are so many who pass us right and left and often come very close, and in the middle there are the ducks,” said Melanie excitedly. The moment a group of Chinese pass by, one of the practitioners stops the exercises and distributes flyers, the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party , and talks with them. The reaction by the Chinese varies. Some are brave, take the information and begin to read it immediately. Some of them call bravely to the crowd, “Falun Gong, Falun Gong.” Some do not dare to accept the materials because of their fellow travellers. They worry about having problems on their return to China. Some look agitated when they hear that this is about Falun Gong. They are deeply poisoned by the Communist Party state propaganda that slanders Falun Gong. A short and quiet discussion helps and they either take the material or if they take the material they tear it up and throw it away.

Melanie’s firmness has been tested in different ways. “One time a man stood in front of me and let his pants fall down,” said Melanie. She ignored it and continued to practise the exercises. He finally pulled up his pants and left. Another time a man and ran off with the device that plays the exercise music. A practitioner chased him and the man dropped the device and then disappeared.

In the beginning, Melanie could not calm down at that busy place. During the summer, the Kursalon a place where people meet for health reasons, a beautiful old building, just a few metres off, held continuously concerts, attended by many people. Modern and classical music droned on and off from the equipment. “Within one year they erected large lighting units or put sand on the terrace of the Kursalon for the enjoyment of the visitors. “It is a very noisy area,” said Melanie. Now, it does not bother her any longer. “Certainly, one hears the music, but once one concentrates on the exercise music, it is all bearable. It is getting more and easier as time goes by.” Because of Melanie and her fellow practitioners’ steadfastness at this place in Vienna, the exercise place stayed at that location for years and many Chinese and people from all around the world can hear the truth about Falun Gong.

Besides, Falun Gong at the State Park is known now also to the Vienna locals and they talk about it. A practitioner overheard at the hairdresser people discussing Falun Gong. “One person said, “Yes, the Falun Gong people always exercise in the State Park.”